Connecticut  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station 

NEW  HAVEN,  CONN. 
BULLETIN  198  NOVEMBER,  1917 


Domestic  Supplies  of  Potash 

By  E.  H.  JENKINS 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Canada  Hardwood  Ashes 47 

Ashes  from  Household  Fire 47 

Ashes  from  Corn  Cobs 49 

Ashes  from  Brush  Heaps 49 

Salt  Marsh  and  River  Meadow  Hay  as  a  Source  of  Potash 49 

Ashes  from  Brick  Kilns 50 

Ashes  from  Witch  Hazel  Stills 51 

Ashes  from  Brass  Mills , 51 

Ashes  of  Seawoods 52 

Potash  in  Farm  Manure 52 


The  Bulletins  of  this  Station  are  mailed  free  to  citizens  of  Connecti- 
cut who  apply  for  them,  and  to  others  as  far  as  the  editions  permit. 


CONNECTICUT  AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION. 

OFFICERS  AND  STAFF. 


BOARD  OF  CONTROL. 
His  Excellency,  Marcus  H.  Holcomb,  ex-officio,  President. 

James  H.  Webb,   Vice  President Hamden 

George  A.  Hopson,  Secretary Wallingford 

E.  H.  Jenkins,  Director  and   Treasurer New  Haven 

Joseph  W.  Alsop Avon 

Wilson  H.  Lee Orange 

Frank  H.  Stadtmueller Elmwood 

Administration.  E.  H.  Jenkins,  Ph.D.,   Director  and  Treasurer. 

Miss  V.  E.  Cole,  Librarian  and  Stenographer. 
Miss  L.   M.  Brautlecht,   Bookkeeper  and  Stenographer. 
William  Veitch,  In  charge  of  Buildings  and  Grounds. 

Chemistry. 
Analytical  Laboratory.     John  Phillips  Street,   M.S.,  Chemist  in  charge. 
E.  Monroe  Bailey,  Ph.D.,  i 

C.  B'.   MoRisoN,  B.S.,  C.  E.  Shepherd,  > Assistants. 
W.  L.  Adams,  B.S.,  M.  d'Esopo,  Ph.B.    ' 
Hugo  Lange,  Laboratory   Helper. 
V.  L.  Churchill,  Sampling  Agent. 

Protein  Research.  T.  B.  Osborne,  Ph.D.,  D.Sc,  Chemist  in  Charge. 

Miss  E.  L.  Ferry,  M.S.,  Assistant. 

Botany.  G.  P.  Clinton,  Sc.D.,    Botanist. 

E.  M.  Stoddard,  B.S.,  Assistant   Botanist. 

Florence  A.  McCormick,  Ph.D.,  Scientific  Assistant. 

G.  E.  Graham,  General  Assistant. 

Entomology.  W.  E.  Britton,  Ph.D.,   Entomologist;  State  Entomologist. 

B.  H.  Walden,  B.Agr.,  First  Assistant. 

Q.  S.  LowRY,  B.Sc,  I.  W.  Davis,  B.Sc,  i 

M.  P.  Zappe.  B.S..  ,- Assistants. 

Miss  G.  A.  Foote,  B.A.,  Stenographer. 

Forestry.  Walter  O.  Filley,  Forester;  also  State  Forester 

and  State  Forest   Fire   Warden . 
A.  E.  Moss,  M.F.,  .Assistant  State  and  Station   Forester. 
Miss  E.  L.  Avery,  Stenographer. 

Plant  Breeding.  Donald  F.  Jones,  M.S.,   Plant   Breeder. 

C.  D.  HuBBELL,  Assistant. 

Vegetable^Growing.  W.  C.  Pelton. 


Domestic  Supplies  of  Potash. 

There  is  practically  no  commercial  supply  of  potash  salts  which 
can  be  used  to  profit  by  farmers,  and  probably  there  will  be  no 
adequate  supply  while  war  lasts.  A  brief  notice  of  the  domestic 
supply,  chiefly  of  various  kinds  of  ashes,  may,  therefore,  be  help- 
ful. 

"Canada  Hardwood  Ashes." 

The  following  statement  shows  the  average  composition  of  the 
so-called  Canada  Hardwood  Ashes  offered  in  Connecticut  dur- 
ing- the  periods  named,  as  determined  by  our  analyses : 

Contained  in  the  ashes,  per  cent. 

'       Water-soluble     Phosphoric  Valuation 

Period             No.  of  analyses             potash                  acid              Lime  per  ton* 

1903  to  1906             72                      4.74              1.35          30.00  $10.65 

1907  to  1910             49                      3.78               1.42          27.31  8.99 

1911  to  1917             23                      2.77               1. 15          23.80  6.96 

The  figures  show  that  Canada  Ashes  have  decreased  steadily  in 
quality  and  value  since  1900. 

The  average  shipment  of  Canada  Ashes  at  present  has  only 
two-thirds  the  value  of  the  average  shipment  ten  years  ago. 
Many  shipments  are  even  less  valuable  and  are  neither  hardwood 
ashes,  nor  even  wood  ashes  in  any  fair  meaning  of  the  term. 
The  reasons  for  this  are  variously  given,  but  the  fact,  which  alone 
concerns  us,  is  indisputable.  Unless  buyers  make  a  hard  and  fast 
agreement  to  pay  on  the  basis  of  water-soluble  potash,  with  a 
specified  rebate  for  any  deficiency,  and  have  their  shipments  care- 
fully sampled  and  analyzed,  there  can  be  no  certainty  of  economy 
in  their  purchase. 

Ashes  From  Household  Fires. 

The  average  of  all  our  analyses  of  household  wood  ashes  pro- 
duced in  this  state  shows  5.99  per  cent,  of  water-soluble  potash, 
2.68  per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid  and  33.58  per  cent,  of  lime;  the 
extremes  of  potash  being  2.93  and  7.51  per  cent.  The  wide  dif- 
ferences in  composition  are  due  partly  to  differences  in  the  ash- 
content  of  the  wood,  partly  also  to  the  heat  of  burning.     If  the 

*  Based  on  values  which  obtained  a  few  years  ago;  viz.,  potash  as 
carbonate  7.7  cents  and  phosphoric  acid  2^2  cents  per  pound;  lime  40 
cents  per  100  pounds. 


48  CONNECTICUT   EXPERIMENT   STATION   BULLETIN    198. 

heat  is  intense  and  long  continued,  especially  if  sand  or  earth  ad- 
heres to  the  wood,  more  or  less  potash  combines  with  silica  and 
becom.es  insoluble. 

A  bushel  of  dry  ashes  from  the  stove  or  fireplace  weighs  about 
48  pounds  and  may  contain  about  2.9  pounds  of  potash,  i^  pounds 
of  phosphoric  acid  and  16  pounds  of  lime,  which,  with  the  present 
prices  of  potash,  would  be  worth  80  cents  or  more. 

Seventeen  hundred  pounds,  or  about  35-}  bushels,  contain  as 
much  soluble  potash  (50  pounds)  as  100  pounds  of  muriate  of 
potash  and  in  more  desirable  form,  besides  45  pounds  of  phos- 
phoric acid  and  570  pounds  of  lime,  in  form  of  fine  carbonate. 
No  better  fertilizer  for  clover  or  other  legumes  can  be  suggested. 

Of  course,  these  figures  are  only  approximate,  but  show  the  wis- 
dom of  carefully  collecting  and  saving  in  a  dry  place  all  the  wood 
ashes  from  stoves  and  fireplaces,  for  use  in  garden  and  field.  They 
are  too  often  wasted  by  mixing  with  coal  ashes,  which  are  com- 
paratively worthless,  or  thrown  with  wastes  to  be  carted  oft"  to  a 
dump. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  of  the  value  of  the  "open  fire"  in  the 
house,  whether  in  city  or  country.  Aside  from  its  value  for 
heating  and  ventilation,  it  should  be  more  used  than  it  is  as  a 
"destructor"  for  many  kinds  of  wastes,  recovering  from  them  the 
most  of  what  has  any  value.  A  hot  fire  will  dry  and  consume, 
with  no  annoyance,  much  of  the  kitchen  waste  of  the  day,  or  if 
the  waste  is  buried  at  night  in  the  hot  ashes,  it  will  dry  and  be 
consumed  in  the  next  fire.  Besides  the  satisfaction  of  not  bur- 
dening others  with  one's  own  waste,  there  is  satisfaction  in  the 
saving  of  some  valuable  material  which  would  otherwise  be  lost. 
While  the  amount  of  potash  in  the  wastes  themselves  is  rela- 
tively very  small,  the  per  cent,  of  potash  in  their  asJies  is,  in  some 
cases,  surprisingly  large.  For  example,  recent  tests  at  this  sta- 
tion show  the  following  percentages  of  potash  and  phosphoric 
acid  in  the  ashes  of  certain  common  vegetable  wastes : 

Phosphoric 

Potash  acid 

Apple  parings II-74  3-o8 

Banana  stalks,  yellow 49-40  2.34 

"  "        red 46.64  3-04 

"        skins 41-76  3.25 

Grape  fruit  skins 30.64  3.58 

Lemon  skins 31 .00  6.30 

Orange  skins 27.04  2.90 


HAY   AS    A    SOURCE    OF    POTASH.  49 

Phosphoric 
Potash  acid 

Peanut  shells 6,45  1.23 

Potato  peelings 27.54  5- 18 

Corn  cobs I7.25  3.14 

Cigar  ashes 16.81  2.57 

There  are  other  wastes  which  have  very  little  potash  in  their 
ashes.     Among  these  are: 

Phosphoric 
Potash  acid  Lime 

Egg  shells 0.29  0.43  52.12 

Dry  leaves 0.51  0.38  1.58 

The  Ashes  of  Corn  Cobs. 

The  percentage  of  potash  in  corn  cobs  is  quite  small,  about 
0.45  per  cent.,  but  the  ashes  of  corn  cobs  which  are  sometimes 
available  v/here  corn  is  shelled  on  the  farm  are  a  source  of  pot- 
ash worth  considering.  An  analysis  made  here  some  time  ago 
showed : 

Water-soluble  potash 21.13% 

Phosphoric  acid 4.01 

Ashes  from  Brush  Heaps. 
When  land  is  cleared  for  cultivation  or  pasture,  or  extensive 
orchard  pruning  and  cutting  of  worthless  trees  has  been  done, 
the  ashes  from  the  brush  heaps  will  probably  have  nearly  the 
same  composition  as  that  of  those  produced  in  witch-hazel  fac- 
tories. (See  below.)  Canadian  analyses  show  10.3  per  cent,  of 
potash  in  the  ashes  of  blackberry  canes,  13  per  cent,  in  those  of 
gooseberries  and  7.9  in  those  of  raspberries.  The  effect  of  these 
ashes  is  often  seen  for  years  in  increased  production  on  spots 
where  brush  was  burned. 

Salt  Marsh  and  River  Meadow  Hay  as  a  Source  of  Potash. 

While  no  one  would  think  of  burning  salt  marsh  hay  for  the 
potash  in  it,  we  call  attention  here  to  its  composition,  to  show 
that  the  u,se  of  the  herbage  from  salt  marshes,  either  for  feed  or 
for  litter,  brings  very  considerable  amounts  of  potash,  as  well  as 
other  plant  food,  to  the  land  from  the  sea.  Analyses  made  here 
some  years  ago  showed  that  the  following  quantities  (expressed 
in  pounds)  of  plant  food  were  carried  to  the  farm  from  the  salt 
marsh  per  ton  of  hay  of  the  kinds  named : 


50  CONNECTICUT   EXPERIMENT   STATION   BULLETIN    198. 

Phosphoric 
Nitrogen  acid  Potash 

Black  grass  {Juncus  gerardi) 23.8  5.0  42.0 

Salt  grass  (Sparlina  juncea) 17.4  5.4  14.0 

Three-Square  {Scirpus  americanus) 23.8  5.0  30.2 

Creek  sedge  {Spartina  glabra) 21.8  7.4  21.2 

Hay  from  these  grasses  carries  besides  from  12  to  90  pounds  of 
salt,  or  an  average  of  54  pounds  per  ton. 

Small  fruits,  such  as  raspberries  and  currants,  which  are  abun- 
dantly mulched  with  marsh  grasses,  scarcely  need  other  fertil- 
izers, and  the  coarser  grasses  should  be  used  abundantly  as  litter 
and  composted  with  manure. 

River  meadows,  where  the  tall  "bent"'  grasses  grow  every  year 
with  no  fertilizer  other  than  that  supplied  in  the  spring  freshets, 
yield  about  as  much  nitrogen  and  phosphoric  acid,  but  less  potash 
than  the  marsh  grasses.  The  following  figures  from  one  of  our 
previous  reports  show  this. 

In  one  ton  of  hay  of  the  grasses  named  are  the  following  num- 
ber of  pounds  of  the  three  plant  foods  under  discussion : 

Phosphoric 

Nitrogen  acid  Potash 

Black  bent  {Panicum  virgatum) 29  7  10 

Blue  bent  (Andropogon  provincialis) 21  6  11 

Indian  grass  {Sorghastrum  nutans) 20  10  19 

Poverty  grass  {Andropogon  scoparius) .  .  .      11  5  11 

Ashes  From  Brick-Kilns. 

In  normal  years  about  two  hundred  million  brick  are  made  in 
Connecticut,  but  in  19 16  and  191 7  probably  not  more  than  half 
or  two-thirds  of  that  number  3^early,  because  of  bad  weather  and 
scarcity  of  labor.  From  200  to  250  cords  of  woods  are  used  in 
burning  a  million  brick,  so  that  this  year's  consumption  of  wood 
in  Connecticut  brick-kilns  will  be  at  least  22,500  cords.  If  the 
wood  weighs  3,250  pounds  per  cord  and  contains  0.75  per  cent, 
of  ash^  with  6  per  cent,  of  potash  in  the  ashes,  the  total  amount  of 
potash  contained  in  the  wood  burned  would  be  16.45  tons;  as 
much  as  is  contained  in  32.9  tons  of  muriate  of  potash. 

The  actual  yield  of  water-soluble  potash  from  the  ashes  which 
can  be  raked  from  the  kilns  after  firing  is,  however,  quite  disap- 
pointing. This  is  explained  by  the  facts  that  a  part  of  the  ashes 
is  carried  away  by  the  strong  draft  and  scattered  through  the 
kiln  or  into  the  air  and  that  the  intense  heat  fuses  the  carbonate 
of  potash  with  the  silicate  in  the  clay  and  makes  much  of  it  insol- 
uble in  water  and  a  part  insoluble  even  in  acids. 


ASHES   FROM   FACTORIES.  5 1 

Six  analyses  of  brick-kiln  ashes  gave  us  an  average  of  1.58  per 
cent,  of  potash  and  T.70  of  phosphoric  acid. 

A  careful  test  which  we  made  at  the  brick-kilns  of  Stiles  & 
Son,  at  North  Haven,  with  the  kind  co-operation  of  the  owners, 
gave  the  following  result :  The  kiln  had  26  arches  and  contained 
about  780,000  brick.  Three  of  the  arches  were  raked  clean.  The 
screened  ashes  weighed  388  pounds,  or  3,362  pounds  for  the 
kiln.  The  amount  of  wood  burned  in  the  kiln  was,  approximately, 
182  cords,  so  that  a  cord  of  wood  left  18.5  pounds  of  ashes  in  the 
arch.     The  a,shes  contained 

Per  cent. 

Total  acid-soluble  potash 2.44 

of  which,  water-soluble 1.30 

Lime 37-42 

Magnesia 3.84 

Phosphoric  acid 1.91 

Moisture 0.16 

A  cord  of  wood  such  as  is  burned  there  is  stated  to  weigh  about 
3,250  lbs.  The  amount  of  pure  ash  in  it  will  not  be  far  from 
24.4  lbs.,  containing  perhaps  1.5  Ihs.  of  potash.  But  apparently, 
there  was  recovered  in  the  kiln  ashes  only  0.45  lbs.,  or  less  than 
one-third,  in  acid-soluble  form. 

Ashes  From  Factories. 
Witch-Hazel  Stills.  There  are  five  or  more  factories  in  this 
state  where  witch-hazel,  or  black  birch,  brush  is  distilled.  The 
brush  is  then  burned  to  make  steam.  When  coal  is  not  used 
with  the  brush,  the  ashes  are  of  excellent  quality,  as  appears  in 
the  following  analysis,  made  some  time  ago: 

Per  cent. 

Total  potash 5.09 

Water-soluble  potash 4.61 

Phosphoric  acid 4.52 

Lime 37.75 

Magnesia 4.68 

An  analysis  of  the  ashes,  recently  made,  showed  4.47  per  cent, 
of  water-soluble  potash  and  4.95  of  phosphoric  acid. 

Brass  Mills.  Four  analyses  of  the  ashes  of  wood  used  in 
muffles  at  the  brass  mills  of  this  state  contained  the  following 
percentages : 

Average  Extremes 

Water-soluble  potash 4.35  2.9 —  6.1 

Phosphoric  acid 2.64  1.9 —  3.4 

Lime 36.00  25.4 — 47.4 


52  CONNECTICUT   EXPERIMENT    STATION   BULLETIN    198. 

Smoke-Honse.  Corn  cobs  or  hickory  wood  have  been  most 
commonly  used  on  farms  for  smoking  meats.  The  average  of 
three  analyses  is 

Per  cent. 

Total  potash 7.72 

Phosphoric  acid 1.48 

Lime 41-78 

The  Ashes  of  Se.^v^^eeds. 

The  burning  of  kelp  and  other  seaweeds,  for  the  extraction  of 
potash,  iodine  and  bromine,  has  long  been  practiced  on  the  coasts 
of  the  British  Isles.  It  has  not,  to  our  knowledge,  been  done  to 
any  extent  in  this  country. 

The  analyses  of  seaweeds  in  our  Bulletin  194  show  that  the 
pure  ash  of  kelp  and  rockweed  may  contain  not  far  from  9  per 
cent,  of  potash,  and  that  of  the  eel-grass  only  3  per  cent. 

For  farm  use  there  is  probably  no  economy  in  drying  and  burn- 
ing seaweeds  for  the  sake  of  the  potash.  It  will  probably  pay  bet- 
ter to  haul  wet  rockweed  or  kelp  directly  to  the  land,  and  eel- 
grass,  after  draining  and  drying,  to  the  pig-pen  or  cow  stables  for 
litter,  as  suggested  in  the  Bulletin. 

The  Potash  in  Farm  Manure. 

Farm  manure  is  commonly  regarded  as  distinctly  a  nitrogenous 
manure,  for  its  nitrogen  content  proclaims  itself  in  various  ways. 
But  manure  contains  as  much  potash  as  nitrogen  and  often  more, 
and  more  than  one-half  of  this  potash  is  contained  in  the  urine. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  nitrogen.  Yet  on  many  fanns  the  liquid 
manure  is  allowed  to  run  to  waste,  or  at  any  rate  no  great  pains 
are  taken  to  absorb  and  hold  it.  More  attention  is  paid  to  the 
solid  than  to  the  liquid  part  of  the  manure. 

There  would  be  less  loss  of  fertilizer  value  if  all  of  the  urine 
were  saved  and  litter  and  dung  thrown  away  than  if  all  the  solids 
of  the  manure  were  saved  and  all  the  liquid  wasted. 

The  value  of  manure  depends  both  on  the  character  of  the  feed 
and  on  the  meat  or  milk  production  of  the  animals. 

A  ton  of  farm  manure  from  cows,  hogs  or  steers  will  contain 
on  the  average  from  g^  to  13  pounds  of  potash.  It  may  contain 
considerably  more  if  pains  are  taken  to  prevent  any  loss  of 
liquid. 


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